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Chemical Leak Shuts Down San Mateo Street

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SAN MATEO (BCN) — A street in San Mateo was shutdown Friday afternoon while a hazmat crew responded to a chemical leak from a delivery truck, police said.

The delivery truck operated by East Bay Delivery Company was making a stop in the 700 block of South Amphlett Boulevard about 1:50 p.m. when the driver opened the rear door of his truck and discovered the chemical spill.

A 55-gallon drum containing phosphoric acid—a cleaning agent that was to be delivered to a business in the Belmont area—had tipped over and was leaking from a small puncture in the drum.

The driver rolled the container to stop the leak and called his dispatcher, who notified emergency personnel of the spill, police said.

Following protocol for handling hazardous materials, the immediate area was closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Police said because there was no immediate threat posed by the phosphoric acid, no evacuation was necessary.

The “small amount” of liquid that leaked was confined to the truck’s interior, police said, and the container was scheduled to be collected for “safe and appropriate disposal.”

No injuries were reported, police said.

Police ask that suspicious materials be reported to the police or fire department by calling 911 or the San Mateo poliining a

Community Emergency Response Team, which is composed of community members who are trained to care for themselves and others in the wake of a major disaster.